most of the east coast of the u.s. was asleep, residents of dixville notch a tiny village in new hampshire headed to the polls to cast the first votes in the u.s. presidential election. after 43 seconds of voting, president obama and republican mitt romney each had 5 votes. as machines prepared to vote a poll shows president obama pulling ahead by 3 points. but within the margin of error among likely voters. >> hello, iowa. >> reporter: an emotional final rally monday night the president asked iowa to help him finish what he started. >> but we are here because we have more work to do. we are not done yet on this journey we have got more road to travel. >> reporter: the president's pitch earlier in the day that he is the same idealist he was four years ago. >> you see the scars on me to prove it. you have seen the gray hair on my head. to show you. what it means to fight for change. >> reporter: for mitt romney, a push to the finish. starting in florida monday, then virginia and ohio and new hampshire nearing midnight.